Tuesday, April 05, 2011

Regardless of your political persuasion I think you will all agree that the large conservative majority on the council is bad for Medway and democracy. Here is my suggestion to change this in the May elections.

The single issue that will directly and immediately effect a large number of people in Medway is not city status, or the lumbering regeneration projects, or the Sainsbury versus Tesco supermarket battle or the new bus station - IT IS THE CLOSURE OF THE PENTAGON BUS STATION !! Many people are still not aware that this will close - they think that the new bus station is in ADDITION to the Pentagon Bus Station!

I think we should organise a publicity campaign about the closure of the Pentagon Bus Station and put the blame where it belongs, squarely on the shoulders of the conservative majority on Medway Council. We could distribute leaflets to the effect that:

The Pentagon Bus Station is closing

Soon you will not be able to catch your bus here

You will have to go to the Riverside Gardens to catch your bus

You will be at the mercy of the weather as there is little shelter there

There is also limited seating and no toilets

If you care about standing around in all weathers to catch your bus

or you worry about how older and infirm passengers are going to cope

Vote for ANYBODY but your Conservative councillor at the local elections

The Conservative councillors are closing your bus station instead of refurbishing it

This is a quick idea off the top of my head but I do think that a single issue campaign which touches all parts of the Medway towns is a good idea and the only way in which we will be able to alter the balance of the council. Please be open and honest in your criticism of this hurried idea and improve the leaflet and add your own thoughts and let me know.

A film of 30 pensioners, for instance, out in the rain at the new dynamic bus station would change a lot of hearts and minds! We need more ideas like this.

Medway Council have no right to take this (admittedly inadequate) facility away from our residents - it is a scandal and we have not properly addressed it until now. It is not the building of the new bus station that is the issue - it is the closure of the old one!

Monday, March 21, 2011

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) have recently ruled that Medway can't "call ourselves whatever we like" as Deputy Leader Alan Jarrett has stated in defence of his "City of Medway, rich heritage, great future" logo. If this WERE the case it could lead to all sorts of confusion - I could, for instance, call myself "Lord Blogger of Rochester", Mr Jarrett could call himself "The Royal Keeper of The Emporer's Invisible Clothes" or "Brad Pitt" - it would be mayhem!

The recent ruling by the ASA states: "The ad must not appear again in its current form".

Imagine then my surprise, whilst perusing pamphlets at the tourist centre in Rochester High street, to find the items shown below, flaunting the forbidden logo! I have suggested (also shown below) a means of complying with the ASA ruling at the cost of a couple of felt tips - no doubt this and the staff time involved could be taken from the Medway city bid budget! I have included this cunning design suggestion as I am sure that Medway Council (or even Mr "call ourselves whatever we like" Jarrett himself) will not want to incur the costs of pulping (or re-cycling?) the thousands of pamphlets and the re-design and re-printing required in these difficult times when cuts to council staff are being made.

I am currently searching for an equally brilliant and cost-effective solution to the ARRIVA bus and the VEIOLA dustcarts that are currently displaying the "misleading" logo.